Water Unites

Preface
Central Asia is a fascinating part of the world. With the exhibition «From the Glaciers
to the Aral Sea – Water Unites» we, the Executive Committee of the International Fund
for Saving the Aral Sea, and the international donor community want to foster a better
understanding of the situation in the countries that were previously part of the Silk
Road. We would like to show how people live in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. We also want to show how water serves all living beings
in the Central Asian Region.
The book has two parts. An analytical part, which contains background information
on water and transboundary water resources management and a second part with
photos. The photos and the texts of the book aim to bring the region closer to you and
serve to bring the people of Central Asia together. We strongly believe that cooperation is
the key to peace, as well as economic and social development. Our journey begins in the
Tian Shan and Pamir mountains. We’ll travel along the Syr Darya river, the Zeravshan,
the Amu Darya, the Karakum Canal and ultimately arrive at the Aral Sea. We’ll learn
about the issues of transboundary water resources management, climate change, international
conventions, integrated water resources management and the Aral Sea catastrophe.
The reader will find texts written in black and bluegreen letters. The bluegreen
text is marked with an i , which stands for information box. Throughout the text there
are altogether 12 such i . With the i we would like to highlight certain topics. The black
text describes the transboundary water management in Central Asia. All texts will give a
detailed view on Central Asia and also describe a lot of issues in general.
It has now been 20 years since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The countries of
Central Asia unexpectedly gained their independence. It certainly was not an easy task to
build nations, to build independent countries, to work out mechanisms for cooperation
with the neighbours. The International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea was established back
in 1992. Since that time, international organizations, bi-lateral aid agencies and foreign
governments have stepped up to cooperate.
This exhibition is also meant to create awareness of the fact that only mutual understanding
will lead to better results. It is the people who must remain at the centre of all our
development efforts and the people who will ultimately make a difference.
I would like to thank the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, the
Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit and the Swiss Agency for Development
and Cooperation for their generous support. 1
Saghit Ibatullin, Chairman,
Executive Committee of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea
1 The text of the book does not necessarily represent the views of EC IFAS.
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